Victorian water and power complaints soar

Victoria's Energy and Water Ombudsman is concerned about the number of people having problems paying for energy and water.

In her annual report, Energy and Water Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said 84,758 lodged complaints in 2013/14, up by 10 per cent on the year before.

Ms Gebert said more than 20 percent of complaints lodged were for credit issues, such as disconnection or restriction of supply, debt collection, or payment difficulties.

"More than ever before, we have found resources drawn into assisting customers with energy and water affordability concerns," Ms Gebert said.

There were 18,065 credit cases lodged last year, 48 percent more than the year before and 207 percent more than in 2009/10.

She said an average 72 credit-issue complaints were made every working day, and for the first time, credit issues replaced high bills as the top complaint issue.

"Given the credit case category is essentially about the capacity of customers to pay their bills and stay on supply, to have 18,065 customers contact us for help with a credit matter is of great concern, and a strong indicator on the growing issue of energy and water affordability," she said.